Drone crashes into residential building in Romania, civilians injured PHOTO / VIDEO

A drone crashed into a residential building in the Romanian city of Galați, ASTRA reports, citing local outlet Viața Liberă and Romanian authorities.

The apartment block on Brăilei Street in Galați was damaged after being struck by what is believed to have been a Russian drone. Two civilians were injured in the incident.

According to ASTRA, local media reported overnight on May 29 that a drone had hit a residential building. Authorities in Galați, quoted by Viața Liberă, confirmed the casualties. Analysis of footage from the scene identified the damaged building as located at 50 Brăilei Street in Galați, Romania.

Romania’s General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations later officially confirmed that the impact caused an explosion and fire in an apartment on the 10th floor. According to the agency, the drone’s entire explosive payload detonated. Around 70 people were evacuated from the building, and the fire was quickly extinguished.

Romania’s Ministry of Defence also stated that a drone tracked by radar in the southern part of Galați violated the country’s airspace and crashed into the roof of the residential building.

“During the night of May 28–29, the Russian Federation resumed drone strikes against civilian and infrastructure targets in Ukraine near the river border with Romania. A drone tracked by radar in the southern part of Galați entered Romanian airspace and crashed into the roof of a residential building, causing a fire,” the ministry said in a statement.

Romania, a member of both the European Union and NATO, shares a long border with Ukraine. Drone debris has previously fallen on Romanian territory during attacks on Ukrainian port infrastructure.

By Jeyhun Aghazada